Sixers searching for answers on defense

Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey shoots over the reach of the 76ers’ Michael Carter-Williams during the second half of Detroit’s 115-100 win. The Sixers have held opponents to fewer than 100 points only twice this season. (Associated Press)

PHILADELPHIA — Anyone with a basic sense of the game and a quick glance at his roster could have told Brett Brown in the preseason that the 76ers would face some issues.

Scoring, for whatever reason, hasn’t been one of them. As for their scoring defense …

“We knew (defensive problems) were coming, but to be honest with you,” Brown said, “I didn’t know it was going to be this poor at times.”

Through 18 games, here’s where the Sixers’ defense resides: last in fastbreak points per game, worst in scoring defense and second-to-last in turnovers.

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The Sixers (6-12) are the second-highest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference. Their record doesn’t reflect that, as they have had a pair of four-game losing streaks — including the one they’ll carry into Tuesday’s tilt with visiting Orlando. They have lost eight of nine overall, one of which came last week against the Magic.

Brown, the Sixers’ first-year coach, has stuck virtuously to his offensive system, which favors the speed element. It encourages his players to push the ball up the floor, either by grabbing it out of the basket after an opponent’s make or following a defensive stop, and using his players’ athleticism to create scoring chances.

That hasn’t been the case, though, as the Sixers are getting outscored on the fastbreak, giving up a league-worst average of 18.5 transition points per game compared to their average of 17.1 points. Couple that with their second-worst total of 18.1 turnovers per game, and their offensive system hasn’t exactly been a recipe for success.

Only twice this season have the Sixers, whose offense averages 103 points per game, held their opponent to fewer than 100 points.

“Offensively, we’re scoring enough points. We’re just not getting enough stops,” forward Thaddeus Young said, following the team’s practice Monday at PCOM. “Any time you score 100 points in a basketball game, that should be enough to win. We as a team have to get stops. We’re showing that we can score. Defensively, we have to take a stand.”

“When you choose to play at a pace we’re trying to play at, the problems really can start there because we turn it over a lot and they run at us,” added Brown, whose Sixers lead the league with 102.4 possessions per game. “A lot of our defensive transition points are coming from turnovers and quick, bad shots because we’re so adamant at playing at a speed. Somewhere out there — down the road, now — there needs to be a better understanding of how to responsibly play that style.”

Brown’s argument is that the Sixers, in their fastbreak attack, are forcing shots instead of moving it better in order to find higher-percentage shots. That theory might hold water, with the Sixers ranking 10th in the NBA with 23.0 assists per game, but they sit at 19th in field-goal percentage and 20th in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Choosing to defend his defense in that manner, though, ignores the fact that the Sixers’ halfcourt defense leaves plenty to be desired … and that Brown said he is unwilling to change it.

The Sixers plan on keeping their up-tempo offensive scheme intact, in addition to Brown’s starting five. Sunday’s loss at Detroit marked the first career start of swingman Hollis Thompson, who will remain in the starting lineup, Brown said, because of his length in passing lanes and because the rookie does not demand touches on the offensive end.

The fix for his defense, Brown said, is in how he manages the Sixers.

“I want to coach the speed game better,” he said. “I want them to understand the difference between a quick, bad shot with time and score versus a kick-ahead, wide-open 3-point shot. I want them to understand the lob play on offense isn’t there. It’s too risky. Or how to take it out of the net quick and not throw it to other bigs cheating behind.

“I want to coach it better and not say, ‘We’re playing on our heels and we don’t want to run anymore because it comes with too many problems,’ which it does at the moment. I want to persevere with this style and this way of playing because we’ve seen with the group we have and the talent-base and the experience we have, we’re not going to beat the teams we’ve beaten playing any other way.”

One more factor contributing to the Sixers’ defensive malaise: their lack of a stopper.

They don’t have that one guy on their team upon whom they can lean to slow down an opposing team’s top shooter. In the recent past, that player had been Andre Iguodala. On this team, Brown doesn’t see a single player who could fit the bill.

“I wouldn’t point a finger at anybody. I really wouldn’t,” the coach said. “That’s not meant to be a knock on any of them. Nobody stands out in consideration for an all-league defensive team. It exacerbates, and I suppose highlights, that we need a group effort. It’s not like we’re boasting shot-blockers behind it and stoppers on the perimeter. Anything we do has to be done by the group and perfectly.”